Match-box holder.



No. 719,173. PATENTED JAN. 2?, 1903. W. BERNARD. MATCH BOX HOLDER.

APPLICATION FILED AUGfill 1901. IO'MODIZL.

ilni'rrnn drape WILLIAM BERNARD, OF NEWV YORK, N. Y.

MATCH BOX HOLDER.

EPIEICIEIUATIUN forming part of Letters Patent No. 719,173, dated January 27, 1903. Application filed August 1, 1901. fierial No. 70,550. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom, it natty concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM BERNARD, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Match-Box Holders, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to match-box holders; and its main object is to provide a simple and cheap device of this class which will be strong and can be readily cleaned.

The present invention is in the nature of an improvement on that shown, described, and. claimed in my prior patent, No. 609,404, granted August 23, 1898. The principal features which distinguish my improved matchbox holder from that illustrated in said prior patent are the combination of the parts of the holder in such a manner as to increase the strength of the construction and the solidity thereof and the formation'of a match-box receptacle merging into the surface of the tray and forming a deflecting-wall which will tend to keep ashes, burned matches, &c., in the deeper portion of the tray, but will present no openings or joints in'which ashes can lodge.

In the drawings accompanying this specification and forming part of the application, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a match-box holder embodying my present improvements. Fig. 2 is a central vertical longitudinal section of the same. Fig. 3 is a central vertical transverse section of the same; and Fig. 4 is a section similar to Fig. 3, illustrating a modification of the invention.

Similar characters designate like parts in the different figures of the drawings.

The base of my improved match-box holder will preferably be a tray, such as A, dished in substantially the manner shown for the reception of the burned mz'Ltcl1-stems,ashes,&c., that may be thrown thereon. This tray will preferably have a ring of soft material, such as a, at the under side thereof to prevent scratching of the table or other article on which the holder is placed and also to prevent noise in moving the same. This ring will usually be seated in a groove between a pair of concentric flanges 1 and 2, projecting downward from the base-plate.

I prefer to hold the match-box in place by means of a pair of guides, such as G, integral with and forming continuations of the tray A, said guides being in this case upwardly-extending walls forming continuations of the central rim 3 of the tray, which rim surrounds a central substantially oblong opening in the tray. It will be noticed that the outer walls 4 of the rim 8 are in this case curved in such a manner that they tend to deflect ashes, 850., away from the center of the tray and into the deep dished portion thereof. It will also be observed that the outer walls of the guides G merge into the walls 4 and form therewith continuations of the surface of the tray, this construction being the preferred one because it presents no openings or joints in which the ashes can lodge, and hence can be kept clean and the surface polished much more readily than is the case in my prior patent. The guides G may have inwardly-projecting flanges, such as 5, for the purpose of retaining a match-box in the proper position, these flanges also forming continuations of the rim 3 and having their outer faces merging into the walls 4 and the inner surface of the tray.

All the parts just described-viz., the tray, the guides, and the flanges 5are preferably formed as a single casting, which may be finished and ornamented as maybe desired.

In connection with the tray A and the receptacle formed by the guides G, I make use of a suitable ejecting-block for opening the match-box and supporting the latter in its open position. This block is designated herein by B and is preferably a hollow casting having a smaller cross-sectional area than the receptacle formed by the guides G in order to leave a clear space between the outer Walls of said block and the inner Walls of the guides. The block is also of less height than said receptacle. This block B maybe secured to the other member of the holder in any desired manner, and in the construction sho ml the tray has lugs 6, which may be bent up and clenched beneath the under side of the base-piece 7 of the block B, this basepiece having shoulders, such as 8, which rest against corresponding shoulders 9 at the under side of the tray, thus assuring a rigid connection of the parts when the lugs 6 are turned up and clenched in place. As the block B is entirely inclosed by the tray and the match-box receptacle and as the receptacle and the tray are formed in one piece, it Will be evident that the block is protected at all times and that there is no danger of the parts becoming loosened when roughly handled, as is the case in the construction shown in my prior patent.

In Fig. 4: I have illustrated a modification of my invention in which the tray A (with its flanges l and 2 and the leather ring a) and also the block 13 are similar in most respects to the corresponding parts shown in the first three figures; but in this modification the tray instead of having a central opening with a rim surrounding it has a solid Web 10, having openings therein through which lugs 6 on the block B pass and are clenched in place beneath the tray, this construction also being a very strong and simple one and also providing for easy cleaning of the merging surfaces of the tray and guides G, the rim 3 having its wall 4 continuous with the tray and guides, as before described.

What I claim is Y 1. In a device of the class described, a tray having upon its upper side an upwardly-extending rigid receptacle and the outer surface of the receptacle and the upper surface of the tray merging into each other and presenting together an unbroken surface.

2. In a device of the class described, a tray having upon its upper side an upwardly-extending rigid receptacle and the outer surface of the receptacle and the upper surface of the tray merging into each other and presenting together an unbroken surface, combined with a block fitted into said receptacle, and means for holding the block in place.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 25th day of July, A. D. 1901.

WILLIAM BERNARD.

Witnesses:

MAX KEVE, JOHN GIEs, Jr. 

